Desendants
by ImAMelon
Summary: A hundred years may seem like a long enough time to reconcile the past, but what happens when too much is forgotten. Where science is the enemy yet the key to salvation. And where one boy will seek to find the truth hidden behind the mask lies.


I am back.

I know, I thought I was dead too...but I'm very much alive (with the exception of this nasty cold that I've gotten).

I also know that you're all expecting chapter three of _Fellowship of the Key_, don't worry...it is in the making, I just haven't really had all that much muse for that one lately. However, I plan on re-watching Lord of the Rings; Fellowship of the Ring from point A to point B of the next chapter. So with any luck I'll be able to have the long waited chapter for all of you who have taken awesome interest in my idea. I love you all and I really hope that you're not too mad at me...it's just, between trying to get a job and my papers filled out for university next year I'm a bit frazzled.

I hope that this will tide you over until I can get the above mentioned chapter completed and uploaded for your reading pleasure.

Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or any references to any of the characters, places, or things that have to deal with it. However, my characters and plot are from my head so they do belong to me.

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"The lifestream courses through our planet, back and forth across the borders of life and death. If that cycle is the very truth of life, than history too will inevitably repeat itself. So go on, bring your Jenova's and your Sephiroth's. It won't matter. We will do as life dictates and stop you every single time." -Rufus Shinra, President of Shinra Electric Company

It's been centuries since the world had seen the need to extract mako, the lifestream, from the planet for any reason. With the natural resources of wood, oil, coal, and the solar power of their sun –life was able to carry on smoothly. Midgar had been rebuilt, though not as the plated metropolis it had once been, and foliage grew all around the area once known as the Slums. Edge, which had been built around the old city, became merged as construction of the city grew and together the two parts formed one giant city, which now was the home to a population of nearly six million people.

The descendants of the mighty hero's, who had saved the planet all those years ago, had no need or want to pick up a weapon other than that which was designed to be used as a tool to garden or build. As the years went by they soon forgot all together about the ways of fighters and about their mighty ancestry. Though highly educated and advanced, compared to even their forefathers these people of the new age lead a rather simple life, outside the hustle and bustle of the large cities. Peace had over come the planet. With no one left to fight, there were no wars, and without wars all the people carried on as though the feuds of the past did not matter. Roads had been created for easy passage between cities and towns, stores on chocobo-pulled carriages were common sights among the open highways as they traveled to sell their goods and wears.

Juno, the once proud military base, had been cleaned up and turned into an international seaport and air-dock which reconnected Wutai and Icicle Village with the remainder of the world. Even Cosmo Canyon and Coral Village, which due to the large amount of oil found beneath their surfaces, soon became popular places of interest for scientists and those merely seeking employment.

As time went on the Ancients became just that. Ancient. Lost to the sands of time, few remembered who or what they were and the power of the knowledge that they left behind, known as material. Only those who had access to all the old files, the old records –most of which had been destroyed when the explosion happened in the Shinra building. It was considered forgotten, and most times when something is forgotten it is best if it is left alone. If the world is at peace than there is no need to experiment for any purpose. Scientists, even those who lived in Cosmo Canyon and studied the stars, were frowned upon as disturbers of the peace. Men and women who tried to figure and identify every part of life, it was seen as unnatural and evil. As it was the scientists of old who had thrown the world into disorder…and it would be the scientists of new who would attempt to undo what has already been undone.

xXx

"What are you still doing up?"

The boy in question looked up from the glare of his laptop and blinked at the woman standing in the bedroom doorway,

"Sorry, Mum…I'll go to bed now."

"That's right you will. I never should have let your father buy you that computer."

He laughed as he closed the windows he was looking at, they had all been bookmarked so he wasn't worried about losing them and neither of his parents knew how to used one so he didn't have to worry about them finding out what he was really doing.

"Good night, Mother."

"Good night, Iris." She walked over and placed a kiss on the teens forehead, taking the laptop off of the bed and set it on the desk under the window. Iris sighed as he watched her and, after she left the room, he laid down. Staring out the window and up at the clear night sky. A sky…his eyes fell to the surrounding ground, if he had been living in this very spot over a hundred years ago he would not have been able to see the sky. There would not have been grass, flowers, or trees growing in the soil, the air would have been polluted and life would have been miserable. Iris's family was not rich by any means; however, compared to the times, they would have seemed like millionaires.

"Which means," he mused as he looked back to the sky and settled deeper into his blankets, "…we would have lived on the plate…above all of this." With those thoughts, he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Iris woke to the smell of bacon crisping on the stove and the sound of his sisters singing loudly, off-key, as they started to get ready for their day. He eyed the laptop as he pulled clean underwear from his dresser and retrieved his school uniform from the closet. He wanted to bring it so bad but like cell-phones, and other electronic devices, personal computers were banned from school property. A sigh escaped his lips as he got dressed and brushed out his blond hair.

"Iris, breakfast is ready!"

"Coming!" he hollered down the stairs as he stuffed the laptop into the bottom of his bag, setting his books carefully on top of it, and exited his bedroom.

He seated himself at the table, bag at his feet, and started to eat,

"What are your plans for after school?"

"I was going to head over to the playground. But if you need me home-" he was cut off by his father holding up his hand,

"If you want to go out with your friends, it's fine. Just be home before dark."

"I will be!" Iris grinned as he finished off his food in a manner that made his sisters roll their eyes and his father chuckle. With final goodbyes, hugs, and kisses from his mother, the blond teenager set off for school.

Reeve Academy, it was a very prestigious school. It was the finest of its time and still held the title for being the best. Not that it surprised Iris much, seeing who the founder was, if the information that he found was reliable and correct.

Reeve Tuesti…he had been one of the seven, but he had also worked for Shinra, as head of Urban Development –which is what made finding information on him a little easier, giving that it was indeed accurate. As no one knew the truth anymore; apparently the man had never left Midgar, and followed the group through a robot that he had created. The properties of the robot remain unknown.

As Iris walked to catch the train, he caught a glimpse of the, still abandoned, tower. He wondered if any of the computers within the complex still worked. It was highly unlikely; those that hadn't been destroyed along with half the building would be corroded after all the years of being exposed to the elements and no maintenance. This was a pity. Iris liked to think of what they might learn from their ancestors, if only they could fund unhampered records from the time of heroes and the empire that was Shinra. The building remained, why couldn't the past? What good is a symbol that has lost all meaning –it is no good, useless. It strikes neither fear nor awe into the hearts and minds to those two look upon it now…but…as the train rounded the corner and the half crumbled building came into better view, the search lights and guard posts could be seen. They had been a recent development, established less than fifty years ago in an effort to keep people from entering the property. Iris knew that it could just be for public safety, given the state of the tower…but was it all necessary, unless of course the city of Midgar was hiding something. Which, based on even the most public of files, was not something out of the ordinary. The train came to a screeching halt and Iris pushed his way past the large crowd in his attempt to get off.

"It's about time you got here. What, did you miss the first train?"

"Sorry Cole," he laughed as the girl, Collette, placed her hands on her hips. Though the blond would agree that his friend looked adorable in the female version of the school uniform, he was sad to admit that it did nothing to enhance her chest which, compared to most girls their age, was humiliatingly small.

"You better be sorry. We're going to be late for class!"

"It's fine…we're not going today." He was a little hesitant as he said it and was fully expecting the slap across the back of his head he received from Cole,

"Not go? Are you insane! They'll call out parents and we'll get in so much trouble."

"I can't go to school today anyway."

"What, why?"

He opened his bag and her eyes went wide as she looked in, "See, I wont even get through the doors without a phone call home."

"You're insane. What did you plan on doing with that thing?"

"You know the old Shinra building?"

"The old what building?"

Iris rolled his eyes, though this also didn't surprise him. At its prime Shinra, had been the jewel of Midgar, its pride and glory. With the power of SOILDER, the Turks, and the worlds best and most intelligent minds under its control –one would have to be a fool to try and stand in their way. However, like most things connected to Shinra, and the planet, people forgot and books were rewritten to suit the needs of the next generation. Even though you could still find old books and, if you dug deep enough, old files, mostly conspiracy theories, about Shinra…it wasn't something that was taught in classrooms. At least, not at large and not about all the horrible things they had illegibly done.

"The big falling down building in the heart of the city."

"You mean the restricted zone!"

"Hush," he grabbed her wrist and lead her towards a less crowded part of the of the street, "…yes I mean that part. I know a secret way to get in."

"I don't know what was put in your breakfast this morning, but I am going to school."

"C'mon Cole…please?"

"Bat them blue eyes of yours all you want. I am not going to get in heaps of trouble for no reason."

"We won't get in heaps of trouble…and it's not for no reason either."

She raised an eyebrow, "Okay, genius, how do you plan to not get us in trouble and what's the reason."

"So you'll come?" he sounded just a little too hopeful. Cole let out a sigh and nodded. She wasn't sure why she was agreeing to this, but so long as Iris explained things along the way it shouldn't be too big of a deal. Besides, the brunet would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in it a little bit.

"Explain, please." She sighed after a while. They had been walking back to the old slum area from the train station. Taking the train back would have raised suspicion, being two students heading in the opposite direction of the school. Iris grinned as he hopped over debris that still hadn't been cleared, for construction was still being done in this part of the city. He paused for a moment to let her catch up and looked back,

"I want…to know what's really going on."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" he sat down on a flat surface and pulled his laptop out from his bag, "…I've been doing some research."

Cole raised an eyebrow as she sat down besides him,

"Iris…what are you getting yourself into?"

"Nothing…Cole, when I started it was for a school project. But than I found some interesting things and did follow up research, the next thing I knew I was sneaking around in government files."

"Iris…" she was suddenly highly uneasy. She would have been fine if he had simply left it at the school project, than she could have convinced herself that this was purely to solidify facts…but hacking into government, classified, material.

"I know what you're thinking, but it's not like that. I found out that what I was really looking at were extremists websites."

"So we're going to get in trouble because of what some homeless drug addict post on the internet via public systems!"

Iris ran his hand over his face and gave his hair a little tug, "If that's what you want to believe, Cole," he shut his computer and put it back in his bag. Cole watched him as he stood up and started walking again.

"Iris…I'll tell your mother!"

"Tell who ever you want!" He never should have gone to her with this. He should have just come straight here, never even gotten on the train. He should glanced up at the church as he walked past, people said that the ghost of a young woman haunted the building, though every Sunday, the pews were filled with people who came to hear the sermons. Most of the youth who attended, however, only went to see if they could try and catch sight of the woman ghost. Iris stopped walking a few steps away from the church and turned to head back, remembering that he had to go through the building in order to get to the path that would lead him to the remains of the Shinra building. When he got back to the front of the church he saw Collette sitting on the steps,

"I thought you were going back to school."

"What's the point? I'm in enough trouble either way…might as well make sure you don't get yourself killed."

He grinned as he climbed the stairs and placed a hand on the doorknob, giving it a push. The wooden doors creaked loudly as he pushed it open a little more and slipped inside, Cole following close behind him.

"This place is so creepy…"

"You don't believe in ghosts, do you Collette?"

"Of course not…" she jumped and let out a small noise as the wind blew and slammed the door shut behind them. Iris laughed as he adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder and took her hand,

"Come on, let's go." He led her over to one of the side doors at the back and pushed it open, revealing an even more undeveloped part of the once Slum area.

"With as old as this place is, you would think they would be further along with reconstruction."

"There isn't really all that much space here…besides, it would probably cost a small fortune to completely rebuild this place."

"I suppose…"

For a while longer they walked along crumpled pieces of buildings, moved past out dated automobiles and signs rusted beyond legibility. It wasn't until they got closer to the old building that they became more careful and curious. Iris paused besides a rather large piece that had fallen.

"Cole…is it just me, or does this look like it had been cut off?"

She walked over and nodded, "And there are what seem to be the remnants of a really big gun up there." Cole pointed and he followed her finger to the rusted wreck which used to be the mighty Sister Ray. Cole was starting to think that there might be more to Midgar than what was publicly known and taught. However, she wasn't about to start believing the rants and raves of people with drug problems.

They walked a little further on, thanks to it being day time they didn't have to worry about the searchlights and, from what they could tell, the guards didn't seem to be taking their jobs too seriously. The two teenagers made their way across the open area without any problems. Carefully they pulled the doors open and slide inside.

Inside was nothing like either of them would have imagined. Of course most of the back was caved in, but for a larger portion of it the lobby of the Shinra building seemed to be intact. But what surprised them the most was that the rubble, in some areas, looked as though it had been moved out of the way, clearing the staircase –that for the most part was still intact.

"It looks like it was done on purpose…"

"Maybe they have started recon-what are you doing?" Cole ran after Iris as he started to climb the steps,

"Going to see where they lead, you coming?"

She sighed and looked back to the door, the brunette had come this far already there was really no more harm or trouble that could come from exploring a restricted building that was undergoing construction during school hours. Her mother was going to kill her. Another sigh and Cole was walking up the stairs being careful of holes and crumbling bits, unlike Iris, who was taking them two at a time and not watching where he was putting his feet.

Four flights of stairs later and they stopped for a break, coming to a door that seemed as though it might open when they were ready to go through it,

"I wonder what went on in this building…"

"I don't know," Iris told her honestly, "…but doesn't seem like it was all that bad."

"What was Shinra, did you come across anything like that in your hacking?"

"I am not a hacker." He huffed, not yet at least. He had yet to see anything remotely close to a computer and hoped that they hadn't all been in the upper, missing, floors.

"Iris…" Cole whispered, bringing him out of his thoughts,

"What is it, Cole?"

"This door…it's an elevator…and it seems to be working…"

Iris stood up and walked over, this building was getting stranger and stranger with each passing moment. He looked over at the stairs which led up, they were covered with rubble from the floor above, which proved to make them impassable, but the stability of an elevator in a building of any sort that was so old and fragile was hardly the safest route to take. Even it was the only one.

"You're not thinking about taking it, are you?"

"I've come too far to back down now."

"Iris, it is suicide to get on that thing!"

"If they are reconstructing this place than it'll be fine."

"If they are…why didn't they start from the bottom up?"

"Maybe…maybe there's an upper floor that's more important? Besides, most of these floors seem to be structurally safe…"

"This place is falling apart…" She sighed, and they both fell silent as Iris pushed the arrow button to go up, and waited for the elevator to make its way back down to them from where ever it was. There was an uneasy groan as it came to a stop with a loud clicking sound and the doors screeched open.

"It's a good thing we're not trying to be quiet or anything…"

Iris didn't hear her; if he had he would have laughed at her sarcastic remark. Instead his eyes were focused on the elevator floor which was covered in broken glass, though most of it had been swept to the side it still raised questions, as the window of the machine was whole, clean, and without even a single scratch. Proof that it had been replaced and used very recently. As they started to go up, he looked over the city. Just for a moment he felt a flash of serious déjà vu,

"I feel like I've been here before…" he stared up at the sky and back down at the ground, but instead of seeing the dust and rubble in the middle of the morning, he saw tall buildings and blinding lights at night. A floating metropolis built on top of a pizza shaped platform, and he was about to reach the highest point of high. The scene vanished with the ding of the elevator, telling them that they had reached the point of the pre-programmed destination. This time, the doors slid open without a sound and the two teenagers looked at each other with slightly nervous expressions,

"What floor are we on?"

"I don't know, but we're pretty high up…and this floor seems to be in perfect condition." And indeed it was, with the exception a few holes in the inner walls, the floors had been replaced, the ceilings and supporting walls had been fixed, all seemed to be in perfect, working, order. It was even more unnerving than what they had seen in the lobby, but seeing this and suddenly the security outside made much more sense.

"Do you suppose anyone else is here?"

"Only one way to find out…" he fixed the strap on his shoulder again and started walking down the hallway. The flickering of the, not completely working, lights only added to the apprehensiveness of the two teenagers as they crept along at a snails pace. Suddenly the lights ahead of them stopped altogether and Cole let out a yell, quickly covering her mouth with her hands, as the floors changed from marble tiles to steal grates beneath their feet –effectively giving off a different sound. At the end of the hallway, there seemed to be a turn with a light coming through a large opened area. Taking Cole's hand, Iris started towards the light.

Fortunately the room was void of people, or at least it seemed that way at first. Amazed by the size of the computers and the speed at which the data that seemed to be running across the screens off, and filing itself, neither of the two teens noticed the two men in lab coats, who were standing in front of a large steel tank, taking turns as they peered through a small window and took notes.

"I wonder what it's used for…" Iris stood in front of the large screen and tired to read the information that swept from bottom to top, but it was moving too fast. Cole shook her head and rubbed her arms,

"I have a bad feeling about this, Iris, can we go back now?"

"Not yet…"

"But…" she stopped when she realized that it would be pointless to try and talk him out of whatever it was the blond was attempting to do, as he sat down and pulled out his laptop. He than pulled out a few cords and plugged the two machines together. What he hadn't been expecting was the shrill sound of an alarm and the sudden rush of guards.

Cole let out a sudden scream as she was grabbed by the arm, Iris was lifted by the scruff of his uniform jacket.

"Well, what do we have here," an elderly man came over from besides the tank, a part of the room that had been hidden by the size of the computers, "Two insolent brats who think that if something is restricted than it is simply there for them to play on," he walked closer still, hunched over, his white hair was pulled into a ponytail as he brushed over his back, his glasses hung dangerously low on his nose. Iris's laptop beeped, allowing everyone to know that it had finished transferring as many files as it could hold, which hadn't taken very long –meaning that either it moved faster than it seemed, or the files were rather large. The man unplugged the small machine and held it in one hand, "Or perhaps you're spies, hmm, sent in by the doomsayers and science-haters in order to sabotage our work," he paused and looked over the two teens with a hard gaze. Cole was in tears and Iris was trying as hard as he could to get away from the guard who was holding him, "Well?"

"We're not any of those things…" Iris tired to explain, "…just curious about this building…"

The scientist rolled his eyes, "Lock them up. I'll deal with them later."

"H-Hey, let go of us!" Iris was trying even harder now to get away as the guards carried them down the hall and around a few corners that they had missed seeing on their way in. They opened a door to a small room and tossed the two teens inside, before letting the door slide closed with a click. The green light above the door turning red, it was locked.

"Great, just great, Iris. We're trapped. Are you happy now?" She sat on the only bed, which was chained to the wall, and put her head in her hands and rubbed her face wishing more than anything that she had gone to class that morning. Iris had slid down to the floor, his head tilted back and resting against the cold, metal, wall. At least he had been right, there was something going on here, and now that he knew that for a fact he was going to find out what it was.

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What do you think of the first chapter?

Please don't hurt me!


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